Sausage and Radicchio Orecchiette with Appetizer

TV and Film star Debi Mazar (Entourage, Goodfellas) and her Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos make real home-style Italian classics.

“Todays lunch could have easily been a mid August family feast.
The kitchen filled up with wonderful smell of peppers, and both Debi and I have been transported somewhere else...
She felt like she was getting ready for a block party in Brooklyn. Gabriele imagined the singing of Cicadas in the Olive Fields...

Just a few quick notes about todays menu:
- always try to find pork sausage that are not seasoned (same applies in case you decide to go turkey)
- you can use your sauce to make Bruschetta instead of Pasta. Toast some bread, spread some Italian soft cheese (Mozzarella, Stracchino, Burrata), then sprinkle the sausage sauce. Bake at 400 for about 10min...you can broil it at the end for a final crisp.
- when preparing the Peppers, always leave yourself open to new uses for them. Yes you can do the skewers, but there are many different ways you can serve them, as a Bruschetta, as a side dish...you can even chop the roasted peppers and use them to prepare a cold pasta salad.
Just Get Creative!!!”

Roasted Peppers and Cheese Skewers Preparation: 

How to

Preheat the oven to 450.

Wash your peppers thoroughly, cut them in quarters and clean them (take the seeds out and all the white stuff...do not know the name in english...oh, well, now that I think of...dont know it in Italian either).

On a cutting board slice them in 1/2 inches strips.

Peel and chop the garlic very fine.

In a pyrex pan sprinkle some oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and layer down the first "sheet" of peppers, then again, season with the oil, salt and pepper...and again, and again, until the peppers are all well seasoned in the pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook for the first 20 minutes.

Remove the aluminum foil, stir the peppers, give it another 10-15 minutes and then boost the broiler for less than 5.

Once ready, let them cool for about a half hour, then get your hands a nice olive oil treatment while preparing the skewers.

What do you feel like drinking today, a humble La Costaglia from Tuscany, a robust Rioja from Spain, or a super chilled dry Santa Margherita from Trentino?

Sausage and Radicchio Orecchiette Preparation: 

How To

Chop the onion fine.

Chop the Radicchio medium-fine.

In a non stick pan, saute the onion and the sausages (without the casing) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the fresh Herbs.

On a high flame, let the pork sweat some grease, while you brake the pieces of meat with a wooden spoon...until golden brown.

Pour the wine into the pan, and stir away, let the alcohol evaporate, then lower the flame, season with salt and pepper, add the Walnuts and let the sauce slowly simmer for about 15 minutes.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and start cooking your pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, add the Radicchio to the sauce, and stir well; you want to wait the last minute to make sure that it stays crunchy, as opposed to cook down.

The trick, like in many pasta dishes, is to cook your pasta very much al dente, and saute it at the end in the pan with the sauce...while cooking for its final minute it will absorbs the sauce, becoming an incredible dish.